


superheros get sick too

by the_samuel_boy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Peter Parker, Big Brother Peter Parker, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Crutches, Disabled peter parker, Fluff, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Irondad, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Peter Parker Whump, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Trans Peter Parker, i have no idea where this is in the timeline but endgame did happen and no one died, no beta we die like men, spoonie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_samuel_boy/pseuds/the_samuel_boy
Summary: it had been two weeks since peter parker had started to use mobility aids in his normal life. spider-man, obviously, had not. they eased his pain and lowered his energy use by ten fold, meaning he could patrol more effectively and fight better. ever since his doctor had brought it up, tony had done his best to make everything accessible for peter. he had gotten blue forearm crutches and a red wheelchair, of course he had. he mostly used the wheelchair, but not everywhere was accessible. plus he preferred the crutches on better days. they were easier, in his opinion.~~~or the reader is desperate for characters that are like him so makes peter a chronically ill, disabled superhero to cope. lots of irondad and peter being a great big bro for morgan. (no caps on purpose.)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 192





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [my crying buddy](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+crying+buddy).



“son of a b-“ peter breathed as flash moved his bag to hit peter in the face. he could hear flash and his buddies cackling after they kept walking. ned glanced at his friend sympathetically.  
“i’m fine, ned. it’s not that big of deal.”  
all that it hurt was his dignity.  
ned shrugged. “i knew you would say that. still, i really think you should really tell mr. stark.”  
“no,” peter shook his head, “he’ll go overboard if he knew.”  
“okay, but if it gets any worse-“  
“i’ll tell him, okay? if it eases your conscience,” peter teased. ned smiled, worry still in his eyes. 

it had been two weeks since peter parker had started to use mobility aids in his normal life. spider-man, obviously, had not. they eased his pain and lowered his energy use by ten fold, meaning he could patrol more effectively and fight better. ever since his doctor had brought it up, tony had done his best to make everything accessible for peter. he had gotten blue forearm crutches and a red wheelchair, of course he had. he mostly used the wheelchair, but not everywhere was accessible. plus he preferred the crutches on better days. they were easier, in his opinion. 

it was friday, thank God. once school was over, Peter had band practice and then he got to go to the lake house. he couldn’t wait to see morgan. tony and pepper too. 

peter waved goodbye to his section members as they went their separate ways. he set his brakes at the curb, watching cars pass by. there wasn’t many kids left at the school, mostly vapa kids and sports players. a black car pulled up in front of him. tony stepped out.  
peter smiled, pleasantly surprised to see his father figure. “tony! i thought happy was picking me up.”  
tony shrugged. “nah. happy took the day off and there was a certain someone who wanted to see you.  
as if on cue, morgan popped out of the car in front of him.  
“petey!”  
his face brightened more at the sight of his little sister. “hey mo!”  
the little kid engulfed him in a hug as best as she could.  
“alright munchkin, let him breathe,” tony instructed. he had popped the trunk. peter got up slowly, not wanting to pass out after sitting so long. once he was standing, tony put his chair in the trunk. peter climbed in the passenger seat after getting morgan back in her booster seat. he felt good. 

he went to the lake house every other weekend to stay, which typically meant no patrol. he would, except morgan wanted every possible minute with her brother. 

it wasn’t long drive. morgan talked about everything she could on the way there, desperate to update peter on her life. he didn’t say much, some acknowledgement here and there when she paused. tony could tell he wasn’t 100% paying attention. the kid’s mind was elsewhere. 

they pulled up to the lake house, the quiet area a welcomed change. morgan immeadietly switched the topic to all the things she wanted to do with peter.  
“okay, maybe let him settle in first, hm?” tony suggested, smiling.  
peter nodded in agreement. “we’ll play as soon as i drop my stuff in my room and grab my crutches, okay?”  
morgan agreed, seeming slightly dissatisfied that they weren’t gonna play right that second. she still trailed peter as he headed up stairs, waiting patiently as her brother slowly stepped, leaning on the rail. 

peter dropped his backpack on the floor by his bed, then flopped down on the mattress. as much as he loved playing with morgan, all he wanted to do was take a nap. thursday’s patrol had been rough. it was just one thing after another, leaving no time for dinner or his meds. he got home late that night, barely sleeping before his alarm for school rang. and then flash was awful on friday. the bully seemed to have gotten worse when peter started mobility aids. he really tried to ignore it, but it got to him.  
“petey?” morgan asked from the open door. “can we go play now?”  
peter sat up, putting a smile on his face. “sure munchkin.” he grabbed his crutches from the corner by his bed then went over to morgan, ruffling her hair. “lead the way!”

morgan decided that peter would be the bad guy, a dinosaur toy in a cape. she would be spider-man. spider-man was her favorite super hero, much to tony’s mock offence. then he would admit that spider-man was also his favorite super hero. pete got a laugh from that. right now, peter‘s dino had a teddy bear, lovingly named beary, under capture.  
“hahaha! you will never succeed spider-man!” peter teased, making his dino dance from side to side.  
“no!” morgan tried to hold back a laugh, desperate to stay in character. “thwip!”  
“oh no! i’m trapped!”  
morgan smiled, “I’ve got you beary! i’ll save you!”  
“no! spider-man has foiled my plans!”  
“oh has he?” tony’s voice called from outside the play house. “i think spider-man’s next mission is to inside the house for dinner.”  
morgan giggled. “daddy! spider-man was gonna save beary and take the bad guy!”  
tony looked through the tiny window at peter, chuckling. “oh really?”  
“i’m not spider-man. morgan insistent on her being spidey.”  
morgan proudly held up the action figure.  
“then i guess spider-man needs to come in for dinner, and regular ol peter parker needs to come in for meds.”  
peter rolled his eyes, then smiled at his sister. “hear that mini spidey? dad’s got your next mission.”  
he watched her head out excitedly. peter got up, leaning down in order to fit without hitting his head. tony handed him his crutches that had been leaning against the house.  
“you got demoted?” tony joked as he walked with peter. peter rolled his eyes.  
“guess so. she called being spider man first, so i let her.” he laughed. “cool if i go on patrol after morgan goes to bed?”  
“if you’re feeling up to it, sure. just don’t stay out too late.”  
“can do.”  
peter couldn’t walk as fast on his crutches, but tony was patient. he took one step with both his leg and crutch at a time, using them as almost an extension of his limb. he pushed himself up the few steps to the house, swinging his legs onto the next step, tony behind him. the smell of pepper cooking wafted out when the door opened, making peter’s stomach growl in anticipation.  
tony laughed at the kid. “after you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited, and auto correct screwed up my style but still. thank you for all the kudos! it means a lot! this chapter is very much just me wishing i was spider-man haha. alright enjoy.

“you said vegetables are green! this is green, so it’s a vegetable.” morgan insisted, holding a green otter pop.  
“i don’t know, i can see it,” peter chuckled from the sink, washing their dishes. He shrugged. “i mean they are fruit flavoured, so they’re basically fruit.”  
“you’re not helping,” pepper scolded half heartedly, smiling.  
“peter gets them before meals all the time!” morgan let out a hmph.  
her mom shook her head. “that’s because peter’s sick, so sometimes he needs the sugar to feel better.”  
“yeah, i’m special.” peter teased. Morgan stuck her tongue out at him, him responding the same way.  
“mature, peter,” tony laughed, turning up from emptying the garbage. peter returned the comment with another.  
“i guess peter isn’t having any dessert then.”  
peter let out a false gasp, “how dare you.”  
tony shrugged. the man grabbed scissors and helped morgan open the otter pop she was holding, then cut open an orange one of his own.  
“i am deeply offended. i am so hurt. i am betrayed,” peter dramatically clutched his chest.  
“i’m sure you are, pete.”  
morgan frowned. “I’ll give petey mine unless you give him a pop.”  
“oh? you will?”  
“yes.” she nodded fiercely.  
“I guess i’ll have to just give in then and give him one,” tony shrugged. He went back to freezer and grabbed a blue otter pop, which peter took in victory.  
“Awesome! Thanks mo!” he smiled at his sister, making her beam. 

Once morgan was bathed, dressed in pajamas, and in bed, she insisted on peter telling her a story. Tony shrugged, like ‘all yours kid.’  
“Alrighty. What story do you want to hear?”  
“Tell me about spider-man!”  
Peter smiled. “Okay. How about the time spider-man saved all his friends from falling?” 

Peter pulled his suit on, then pressed the spider in the middle so it would fit right. Adrenaline was starting to fill him, ready to go. He pulled on his mask, giving one quick look to his mobility aids. Spider-man was nothing like peter parker. Spider-man wasn’t sick. Spider-man didn’t need a wheelchair or crutches or medications. Spider-man didn’t need help. only peter parker did.  
He let out a sigh, then left his bedroom. Pepper and Tony would want to see him out.  
“You all good?” Tony asked. He was sitting next to Pepper at the dining table, papers everywhere. SI work probably.  
Pete nodded.  
“And you know the rules, be home-”  
“By two. Stop patrolling if pain gets higher than a 5. Karen will be sending you current reports. Don’t do anything I might not be able to handle. If may says i have to stop, I have to. I know, Mr. Stark.”  
He smirked at the kid, then stood up. “Stay safe out there spidey.”  
Peter gave him a quick hug, saluting as he stepped back. “Will do.”  
They could’ve sworn he had skipped out of the house. 

“And that’s why mr. stark won’t let me enter a cosplay contest in my suit,” finished Peter. He squatted on top of a building, looking below for trouble.  
“That is a very nice story peter.”  
Peter shifted his weight on to his other foot. “Thanks. Hey, do you see anything?”  
“There is currently a young man looking anxious as he is walking, but nothing else near here.”  
“Guess I’ll just be a friendly neighborhood spidey then.”  
Peter swung down, seeing a guy that looked maybe fourteen, anxiously glancing at his phone as if waiting for something. He dropped down about ten feet away as to not scare the kid.  
“Hey, everything okay?” Peter called out.  
The kid dropped his phone as he rushed to put his hands up. “Please don’t shoot. I swear I’m just waiting for my friend and-”  
“Wait, no, no it’s okay man,” Peter stepped out of the shadows. “Just wanted to check on you, since you're a kid standing alone in the dark. I promise I won’t shoot or attack you in anyway, okay?” Peter put his hands up as well, stepping a little closer.  
“Oh, Spider-Man. I’m so sorry, I thought you were a cop.” The kid relaxed a little, but didn’t move.  
“It’s okay dude,” peter smiled and stepped about six feet from him. “What’s your name?”  
“Elijiah.”  
“I like your name elijah.”  
“Thanks, picked it out myself.”  
Elijah clapped his mouth shut as soon as he said it.  
“Wait,” peter pointed at him like in that spider man meme. “You trans?”  
Elijah shakily nodded. Peter smiled.  
“Me too, man. It’s all cool. How can I help?”  
The kid bent down and grabbed his phone, not taking his eyes off peter. “Uh, my phone died. And I was supposed to call my mom to pick me up but now I obviously can’t.”  
“Do you want me to walk you home? Or would you like to borrow my phone?”  
Elijah smiled sheepishly. “Could- could I borrow your phone? Please?”  
“Course dude!” Peter handed it over after opening it and clicking on the phone app.  
He looked a lot less stressed when he handed the phone back. “Thank you so much sir. She’ll be here in ten minutes to pick me up.”  
“Cool! Also, don’t call me sir. That’s weird,” Peter laughed. A kid his age calling him ‘sir’ didn’t feel right.  
“Okay, sorry…”  
“No worries, elijah. Want me to stay with you?”  
The kid hesitated, then nodded. 

When elijan got home, he found a note on his back. It read: ‘dm me on ig alright? @spidey-man trans guys got to have each other’s backs -🕷

Peter swung away, pleased with himself. “What else for tonight Karen?”  
“There seems to be an armed robbery at the liquor store on 21st street. Two men.”  
“Action!”  
Peter webbed between the next few buildings before stopping at the one parallel to the store. He could hear faint demands being given to the young cashier, scared for his life. Peter hopped through an open window, climbing on to the ceiling as quietly as he could. The cashier seemed to see him, so he put a finger to his lips in a ‘shh’ gesture. If he got told out, there wouldn’t be a good chance. He softly landed behind the two men, too focused on their deed to pay attention. They didn’t know he was there until peter stuck a web to each of them, pulling them back. They were big guys, over six foot, so it came with some difficulty. Peter met eyes with the cashier. “Run. then call 911.”  
He gladly followed orders, sprinting out of the store. Leaving Peter alone.  
“Guess your mommies didn’t tell you robbing was wrong.” 

It wasn’t an easy fight. Nor even a fair fight. They had the weight of probably four of him, and just the brute strength. He managed to get one of them webbed to the ground. Then the other pulled a gun out, pointing it at him.  
“Let him go or I shoot.”  
Spidey pretended to think about it. “How bout… nah.” he thwipped a web onto his legs, tripping him, then stuck him on the ground.  
Not before the robber was able to pull a trigger.  
Peter’s ears ringed. He noticed he had pain, but he always had pain. It wasn’t exactly new for every part of him from his feet to his hips to feel like they were on fire.  
Then he looked down.  
“Oh look at that,” peter noted. The blood made him dizzy.  
“Calling Mr. Stark,” Karen’s voice announced in his ear. “You have been shot in your outer thigh. You are also suffering from low blood sugar and dehydration.Your pain levels may send you into shock.”  
“Kid!? You there?!” Now Tony’s voice filled his head.  
“Hey dad! I stopped a bad guy!”  
THUMP


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: panic attack, gun sh0t. be careful <3

peter didn’t know how long he’d been out, but he noted the panicked callings for him through the phone. he grunted, pain shooting up through his leg as he tried to move.   
“peter?!”   
peter grunted again.   
“stay where you are and don’t move. i’ll be there in two minutes, okay kid?”  
another grunt. they seemed to be his only vocabulary at the moment.  
if not for the ringing in his ears, he would’ve heard tony’s suit coming closer. tony found him exactly where the kid dropped, a small pool of blood where his leg was.   
“shit kid,” tony noted, looking around. the two crooks seemed to be tied up well, but tony wanted to keep an eye on them. he turned back peter.   
he was pretty far out of it. tony touched the wound, causing peter to cry out.   
“okay, i’m sorry, sorry kiddo. i just need to see how bad this is.”   
he needed to compress it, slow the bleeding. he guided peter’s hand to shoot a web around his leg, making a makeshift bandage. it was far from perfect, but it would work.   
“‘kay, i’m gonna get back in my suit and then pick you up. stay still.”   
a very slurred confirmation came from peter. better than nothing. still, it was probably good no one was around to witness iron shooting off with an incoherent, bleeding spider-man in his arms.

luckily, parker luck did not strike. tony would’ve been way more worried. but, alas, the bullet was clean through and didn’t get stuck. he was lucky, as lucky as one can be when getting shot. peter’s healing powers should be able to take care of it. he called the kid’s doctor anyways.

the two landed on the driveway, tony trying to be careful not to bump the kid’s bad leg. a tired looking pepper stumbled out of the front door, hurrying toward her husband. tony retracted his mask.   
before she could say anything, tony instructed, as calmly as he could, “he’ll be fine, pep. can you go get the first aid kit and put it by the couch?”  
she nodded, going back the way she came, bare foot on the cement. tony readjusted peter more securely in his arms, following inside the house. 

he set peter down gently. his eyes were open, but glazed over as if he were staring off into space.   
“you’ll be fine pete.”   
tony pressed the spider on the center of the kid’s chest, quickly pulling off the suit. he propped peter’s leg up and wrapped a bandage around his thigh. he heard talking from the front door. manuel, peter’s doctor, came into view. he was still in his pajamas, wearing a messager bag across his body.   
“this better be good to wake me up at 2:30 in the morning,” the young adult smirked, not serious. “go take a break, tony. i’ll grab you.”   
tony nodded. exhausted. he got up from the boy’s side and left the room, going up stairs. a peek in morgan’s room confirmed all the noise hadn’t woken her up. they didn’t need a distressed child on top of a shot teen. 

tony watched his reflection in the mirror. it was worn down.   
“these damn kids are giving me gray hair,” tony mumbled, still smiling.  
he washed his face, hoping to wake himself up a bit as well as get the sweat off. 

~~~

peter woke up on the couch, slowly working to understand what was happening. he could see tony, hear him, but he couldn’t comprehend what was being said. he slipped in and out of a dream like state, not fully waking up. 

he came back in his bedroom. a little bit of light was coming through the blinds, but the house was quiet. he sat up, hissing as pain shot through his thigh and up his torso. the memories came back to him. patrol. capturing robbers. getting shot. tony. he had come and grabbed him, but where was he. peter glanced over at the bb 8 clock on his dresser. (yes, he had a star wars clock. tony had designed the room.) 6:32. of course no one was up. tony and pepper had been up late taking care of him. but morgan? the little one could be an early riser. maybe she was just sleeping in-

“petey?” morgan opened his door, stage whispering.   
he smiled. it was hard not to smile when he was around his little sister. “morning mo.”   
she came in the room, one arm around a spider-man plush. “can we make mommy and daddy breakfast?”   
“sure. what do you wanna make?”  
“waffles!”   
peter carefully slung his legs off the bed, not reacting to the pain. “waffles it is.”

~~~

“peter? what are you doing up?”   
peter glanced at pepper before turning his attention back to the waffle maker. he was leaning heavily on his crutches, no weight on his left leg, while morgan enthusiastically mixed cut up fruit together.   
“making you breakfast,” peter shrugged. “morgan’s idea.”  
morgan smiled brightly at her mom. “i wanted to surprise you and daddy, so I asked peter if we could make waffles!”  
“that’s really nice of you sweetie. how about i help out, since i’m up? it’ll be a nice surprise for daddy.”  
morgan seemed to contemplate it for a second before nodding. peter handed over his spot, sending a silent thank you to pepper. he didn’t want to disappoint morgan when she asked, but he was suffering.  
peter hobbled over to the table and sat down. on top of the fatigue and pain that was continuously washing over him, memories from the patrol the night before coming back to him. reminding him of early spider-man days.  
he didn’t realize he was losing reality until his spidey sense (peter tingle) screamed at him to duck. the ‘threat’ was a piece of strawberry morgan had thrown at him in an effort to get his attention. he looked up, breathing hard as images continued to fill his mind. pepper slowly approached him.  
“peter, honey? you okay?” she placed a hand on his shoulder, kneeling down to his level, then looked back at morgan. “can you go get your daddy, morgan?”   
the kid, scared for her brother, nodded and rushed off towards her parent’s bedroom.

uncle ben. bleeding out. your fault. your fault. you could’ve. you could’ve stopped it. your fault. gun shot. your fault. 

the words repeated again and again in his head, chanting a mantra he didn’t want to hear. 

your fault your fault your fault.

arms engulfed him in a hug. he felt tears drip down his face, he must’ve been sobbing. he heard morgan sniffing.   
oh gods, morgan. 

your fault your fault your fault

peter wasn’t good enough and may lost her husband. he wasn’t good enough and morgan nearly lost her father. 

your fault your fault your fault.

a gunshot ringed through his imagination. he writhed, screaming for something he could never get back. 

uncle ben. dead. your fault. 

“kid. kid, listen to me.” tony’s voice commanded. the man was running his hand through the kid’s curls, holding him tight. “you’re okay, pete. you’re safe. it’s not your fault. you’re okay.”  
another sob escaped his lips. tony held him tighter, shushing him.   
“you’re okay kid, everything’s okay. nothing is your fault. they’re just memories. you’re okay. you’re okay.”

the words began drawing out the horrid chanting in his head, the flashbacks starting to fade. tony squeezed him again.   
“you’re okay kid. everything’s okay. you didn’t do anything wrong.”

peter pressed his head into the man’s chest, listening to the arc reactor buzzing. listening to his heart. 

he’s alive.

“you’re okay kid. try to match my breathing, okay?” tony took an exaggerated breath, held it, and let it out, guiding peter to follow. 

“it’s okay, kid. everything is okay. i’m here, pete.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long!! i’m hoping to write more but inspiration was failing me. let me know what you want to see for this story!

“spider-baby is benched,” tony announced his when peter got up to run after morgan.   
both morgan and peter frowned, though morgan seemed more disappointed. peter was too busy masking and hiding his pain to pout.   
“i wanna plaaayy!”   
tony shrugged. “we can still play. how about we play some chutes and ladders.”   
morgan seemed to find that acceptable and went off to grab the game. tony turned back to peter.   
“it’s gonna be a wheelchair day, kid. and a nap kind of day.”  
peter sat back down on the couch. “that’s not fair to morgan. besides, i’m fine.”  
“nope. manuel said three full days of chair so that leg can heal correctly and you don’t suffer later. and you need sleep. there’s a teacher day for school monday, right?”  
peter nodded.   
“aight, then stay until then. then you have all of sunday for morgan.”   
peter considered it. “fine. a nap does sound nice, to be honest.”  
the man smirked. “then it’s a plan.” 

“aw come on,” peter complained as he landed on square 62. he had lucked out at the beginning of the game, going from square one to square 19, but it didn’t stay long. morgan giggled as she spun the spinner, counting out the squares and landing in front of him.   
“treachery. i’m telling you.”   
tony shrugged, passing peter’s piece in the board. “sucks to suck kid.”  
he didn’t say anything, until he landed on another chute, sending him back to square six. “oh come on. this game is fully based on luck anyways.”   
“someone’s a sore loser.”   
morgan spun, still giggling. she counted out the squares, landing on number 80. peter gave an exaggerated groan. square 80 was basically an automatic win.   
“good job, mo.”   
“sorry i beat you petey,” morgan shrugged. tony snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.   
“good game morguna,” he glanced at his watch, “it’s a little past noon. why don’t i make some mac n cheese? can you go get a box out, morg?”  
morgan nodded excitedly, rushing off to do as asked. peter lost some tension as the extra energy in the room faded. tony gave him a sympathetic look.   
“you hungry, kid?”   
peter shook his head in response. he could hear morgan’s clambering in the kitchen, and each noise drilled in his head.   
tony nodded understandingly. “go rest. i can keep her busy.”   
peter nodded again, wheeling back from the table and toward the stairs. he transferred to his crutches to get up them. tony offered to switch him to a downstairs room, but peter wanted to be near morgan’s room in case she needed him.   
tony watched his kid slowly make his way up the stairs. he was hurting, but tony couldn’t do anything about it. 

peter gently flopped onto his bed, closing his eyes. if he wasn’t gonna sleep, at least he could pretend to. he could the tv going and morgan talking, even with the door closed. stupid super senses.


	5. Chapter 5

the weekend passed quicker than peter wanted it to, monday coming too soon. of course, monday meant school. 

school had become a different kind of struggle when he started getting sick. on top of missing it for appointments, there was the problem of mobility aids. the first “what happened??” from his teachers was the most annoying. he didn’t have a cool story to tell about how he got hurt, his legs just sucked ass. flash had become more of an asshole, he had people stare in the hallways, and everyone was awkward around him. 

he still just told himself to look on the bright side. at least no one would think he’s spider-man, he told himself. though, that was a whole other can of worms. complicated, to say the least.

~~~

peter had third period p.e.. hell in a class, but at least ned was there. it was assessments week too. the stupid tests they did every few years to see how kids were. push ups, sits ups, running, the whole nine. 

ned and peter lined up for the worst of the worst tests: weight and height. despite them being the easiest in one view, it was the most despised. 

“you’d think they’d realize having you weigh in front of everyone is a real shit thing to do,” peter suggested in an effort to improve the mood.   
“welcome to school. they don’t care about us, just our grades,” ned responded. “but hey, it’ll be fine. it’s the last year we have to do this anyways.”   
peter nodded. he looked over to mj in the other line; she was next.   
“parker?” his gym teacher called up. peter sighed, dropping his shoes by the scale and stepping on, eyes to the ceiling.   
mr. rext sighed. “see me after class, parker.”  
nodding, he grabbed his shoes and left as soon as possible. this couldn’t have been good, he thought. 

“at least that’s over.” ned let out a sigh as he sat down next to peter on the bleachers, putting on his shoes.   
“i guess.”  
mj plopped down next to ned. “why the sulking, nerd?”   
“i'm not sulking,” peter scoffed.   
“you are most definitely sulking and i have come to find out why.”   
he rolled his eyes. “rext wants to see me after class.”  
“so there’s the sulking!” mj announced.   
“why does he want to talk to you?” ned asked.   
peter shrugged. he toyed with a crutch, spinning it. “probably my weight. this is the exact opposite of the problem i thought i would have. it was supposed to be, ‘holy shit parker, when did you get so much muscle?’ not ‘holy shit parker, i knew you were small but this is new.’”  
“it will be fine, peter. don’t stress about it. there’s nothing-“  
“actually, you probably should worry,” MJ intercepted. “if rext tells may, then may tells tony. and you’re fucked.”  
ned shot her a glare, which she waved off.   
“im kidding. there’s literally nothing to worry about.”

~~~

rext summoned peter from across the locker room. peter and ned only had time to exchange a glance before he went over.   
“yes mr. rext?”  
“sit down peter.” the coach gestured at a empty plastic chair with a matching empty face.  
“we need to talk about your weight.”  
peter pulled at his sleeve. “uh, okay sir?”  
“you measured at 5’6”, which is great under your circumstances. but you’re at 102 pounds.”  
there was a pause. peter could hear all the chattering from the locker room as the rest of the boys dressed.  
“i’m just worried about you peter, okay? understand that.”  
“yessir.”  
“now go get dressed. the period’s almost over.”  
peter nodded and hurried out of the tiny office. he walked back over to his and ned’s p.e. locker, chewing on his lip.   
“what did he want?” ned asked, worry hidden in his voice.   
peter waved it off. “just talk to me about my weight. tell me he’s worried.” a sigh escaped his mouth. “kinda tired of teachers staring at me like i’m gonna break at any moment.”  
he slipped his shirt over his head, then sat down to put his jeans back on.   
“sorry,” ned could only think to say. peter huffed a laugh, shrugging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhh what's gonna happen next?? (i don't know either lmao) hope you enjoyed! i really really enjoy comments, they make my week.


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